At IAAPA 2025 I had the chance to experience Wingz by Zamperla. Wingz offers passengers the ability to “Fly Like a Bird” by flapping their arms to make the gondola rise and fall as the central tower slowly rotates. Wingz is THE interactive family ride. In addition to the unique interactive feature, it’s designed to be fully accessible and has a specialized gondola that allows wheelchairs or scooters. It’s part of Zamperla’s ALL ACCESS and inclusive lineup of attractions.

This ride was actually setup and fully operational inside the IAAPA expo hall. At 39 feet it was essentially the tallest thing on the show floor and offered great views. What really made this ride was the interactivity. Children’s rides often have a lever or button to operate hydraulics to allow a vehicle to move up and down, but the mechanism on Wingz is totally unique. It uses a camera sensor reminiscent of an XBox Kinect that allows riders to flap their arms like a bird to ascend.

This ride hits a great sweet spot being a true family ride. This is much more than a simple kids flat ride that might get only get 5 feet off the ground, but isn’t hundreds of feet like a Starflyer. At ~40 feet it’s about perfect to provide a great view without being too intimidating. It also uses a simple seatbelt and has a low height restriction of 36”, so it will accommodate many ages and body types.

At IAAPA Zamperla really leaned into the “All Access” and “Ride Together” themes. Many thrill rides can be restrictive on things like body type or height, so it’s great to see Zamperla considering all types of riders for the rides that it is practical. After riding Wingz they even handed out some great embroidered key chains with these themes.

The first Zamperla Wingz is going to Morgan’s Wonderland in San Antonio, Texas, the world’s first ultra-accessible theme park designed for guests of all ages and abilities. The fit here could not be more perfect. The park was founded by Gordon Hartman so his daughter and others with special needs could play alongside their families. It has over 25 rides, attractions, playgrounds and other interactive elements including a water park.

Zamperla could really have a future flat ride hit on its hands. Zamperla is well known for this style of ride and this could be the next one to be cloned across dozens of parks. Hopefully the new interactive technology proves to be reliable and no doubt the install at a place like Morgan’s Wonderland will help work out any bugs. Your favorite ride is generally one you can actually ride and for some with mobility limitations Wingz may be one of a limited few they can experience.